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Chris Doward

@chrisdoward.bsky.social

82 followers 230 following 120 posts

Born in South London. Moved from Southwark to Norfolk many moons ago. Will probably end up posting mostly the landscape around Sheringham. The penny dropped and the mechanism emitted a faint whirring noise.

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · 5h

It is not to possible to access the North Wales lines from Platform 5 at Crewe, only from Platform 6 and above. I think it was usually Platform 11.

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · 1d

Seeing we're on a Class 87 theme, here's one of my favourite photos: 87006 'City of Glasgow' heading north from platform 5 at Crewe after being detached from its' train on a Sunday around 36 years ago. @doublearrow64.bsky.social

87006 'City of Glasgow' leaving platform 5 at Crewe light engine on a Sunday after working a train from London Euston. 87006 is heading for the Manchester lines which head off to the right of the picture. Photo probably taken around midday as the sun is pretty much head on to the rear cab. Loco in early Inter-City livery, with yellow ends and a BR double arrow just visible on the bodyside of 87006. The West Coast Main Line to Liverpool and Scotland disappears into the distance to the right of 87006. Lots of structures to support the overhead wires are visible. 87006 is framed between the post of signal CE157, shunt signal visible, and a stanchion on the right.

Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · 1d

The loco behind 87030 in the previous photo is 87027 'Wolf of Badenoch'

Class 87 locomotives 87027 'Wolf of Badenoch' and 87030 'Black Douglas' at Euston around 1990. Both locomotives are in early versions of Inter-City livery, which the band extending around the cab of 87027, where 87030 has full yellow ends up to the front windows. 87027 has normal size numbers, while 87030 has larger ones.

Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · 1d

Or May 1989 to be correct.

Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · 1d

My photo of 87030 at Euston, probably 1990/91, with large numbers and a larger arrow symbol than 87021 just visible in the gloom. I'm sure I've got a colour photo of 87030 from May 1990 but that may be lost in the mists of time.

Black and white photo of Class 87 87030 'Black Douglas' just peaking from the gloom at London Euston around 1990/1991. The 87 is in Inter-City livery with a full yellow end and large numerals on the cab beneath the driver's window. BR double-arrow symbol just visilbe in the gloom, centre-right of the photo.

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Coates is Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 1d

It’s the 111th anniversary today of the birth of Harry Rée, who was a teacher and conscientious objector when the Second World War broke out, and by the time it ended, when he was 31, had invented ‘blackmail sabotage’ and got a DSO, an OBE, a Croix de Guerre, and a Medaille de la Resistance

b/w photo of a man in socks and sandals, jacket, short and jumper, in front of a wall with a bike leaning on it, and with a pipe in his mouth. If you wanted one image to sum up the word ‘nonchalant’, this would be it

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Andrew Orton @andreworton.bsky.social · 3d

The death of multi-camera TV: a thread. I know most of you will know the technical parts of this (and may have read it in the other place) but bear with me. 1/ 🧵

A shot from the studio rehearsal of Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan episode 'Volcano', showing several actors ont he TARDIS set, with various video cameras around the scene.

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · 7d

Raindrops on nasturtium leaves. 08/10/25.

Monochrome image of raindrops on a nasturtium leaf, 08/10/25. Leaf fills up most of the photo, with the stalk at the right end of the photo with veins radiating out from it. A large water droplet fills where the stalk meets the leaf. Various droplets of a large size line the vein heading out to the left, surrounded by lots of smaller droplets.

Monchrome image of water droplets on a nasturtium leaf, 08/10/25. A large droplet has formed where the leaf joins the stalk and veins radiate out. At the far left are a large number of droplets of various sizes.

Reposted by Chris Doward

Simon Hendy @simonhendy.bsky.social · 19d

Some rather splendid yarn bombing in Westbury-on-Trym this morning.

Westbury-on-Trym WI yarnbombing on a postbox

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Coates is Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 29d

Roses are red
Sweetly sings the lark

Telegraph headline: Aggressive goats, with taste for human urine, are airlifted out of park. Image shows mountain goats in slings dangling from a helicopter over trees

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · Sep 11

Despite easily being the most British fighting vehicle ever developed, the mock-Tudor AT-AT programme was sadly cancelled due to budgetary concerns

The Old Wellington Inn in Manchester, being jacked up on stilts to the new street level during redevelopment. It definitely looks like it's about to waddle out of the picture.

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Professor Peter Matthews @urbaneprofessor.bsky.social · Sep 7

This frontispiece in my book just made me laugh a lot. Is this Buddhist reincarnation, or some other form of afterlife?

Bram Stoker
1847-1912
A PENGUIN SINCE 1979

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Patrick Vallely @pjvphotography.bsky.social · Aug 28

"Pat, why do you carry that ridiculous 600mm lens on long hikes?"

Buddy, I can see mountains reflected in the eyes of a trailside pika.

Tighter crop of the same pika, focusing on its head.

An even tighter crop, focusing more on the pika's eye.

An extremely tight crop of the pika's eye, emphasizing their reflection of an early morning mountain scene.

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Ron Sexsmith @ronsexsmith.bsky.social · Aug 13

DRAGONS DEN: So it says here you have an idea for
a new breakfast cereal?
ME: That's right! It's sort of like Alpha Bits cereal
but with numbers instead of letters...
DRAGONS DEN: I see, and you think this would be successful?
ME: Yes, in fact I've already crunched the numbers RS

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 31

She worked in the Neals Yard Rough Trade mid-1990s. I brought the second Tindersticks album from her.

Reposted by Chris Doward

trick van treat @derek.bike · Jul 30

good morning

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 30

@simonhendy.bsky.social @lunacytowers.bsky.social Dame Aunty Susan has received her package and would like to thank M'Lord and M'Lady for the thought. She was heard to exclaim "It's an real buscuit tin" I think she is going to enjoy it. Thank you, both.

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Reposted by Chris Doward

Philippe Auclair @philippeauclair.bsky.social · Jul 29

"It started as a shit idea" to strengthen the local community.

This is "cowpat lotto", as invented and played in northern France, near Azincourt (*the* Azincourt) where three lucky winners share the loot if their cow (goats also accepted) drop their load on their selected square.

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 27

Yes, she saw him play in London she thinks in 1959.

Reposted by Chris Doward

Woe, a Doe @doefulwoeful.bsky.social · Jul 25

I laughed at this video for like 2 minutes straight last night and now you get to

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 27

Mum was lucky enough to see Tom Lehrer play live. I don't know if John did too.

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Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 15

Whilst I was up on Skelding Hill, Sheringham, 15/07/25, looking for ladybirds I was treated to the sight of a pair of red kites overhead. This one was directly overhead for a short while before flying off east. @icelass.bsky.social

The underside of a red kite circling briefly over Skelding Hill, Sheringham, 15/07/25, against a backdrop of blue sky.

Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 15

Now for the addendum. I took this photo of a group of six seven-spot ladybirds on gorse, near to where i found the first two. I didn't notice until I uploaded the photo that there where a couple of dinocampus coccinellae wasps crawling around too.

A group of six seven-spot ladybirds grouped around the top of a gorse stalk, Skelding Hill, Sheringham, 15/07/25. There is a presumed dinocampus coccinellae wasp on a leaf above the seven-spot ladybird that is furthest right. There also is a second wasp crawling over the shell of the ladybird at the bottom.

Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 15

I went back up again mid-morning, 15/07/25, to see if the ladybirds were still on the end of the gorse stalk. They were, although one of the seven-spots was now on top of one of the others. There looks to be a dinocampus coccinellae wasp bottom right. 5/

Chris Doward @chrisdoward.bsky.social · Jul 15

Three seven-spot ladybirds grouped around the top of a gorse stalk. There is a presumed dinocampus cocinelleae wasp crawling over the pronotum of the bottom ladybird.